Can you open the window in an outside cabin?

[Woody9]

Sorry if this has been asked and answered before. I did search the forum, but my search returned so many threads it was difficult to find the answer. I am HAL newbie and am wondering if --and sort of hoping that--the outside HAL cabin windows open.

[Gsel]

If you are asking about the Outside Cabins the answer is "No". Of course the Veranda doors open. Sorry!

[prescottbob]

Ahoy!

Only with a glass cutter or baby sledge hammer.

Hope this helps.

Have a GREAT CRUISE!

Bon Voyage & Good Health!
Bob:)

[Woody9]

It's too bad that HAL's cabin windows don't open, but I suppose that just one of the perks that makes the verandah cabins worth the extra $$.

As an aside to any of you poor folks reading this thread:

I sailed on the Star Flyer which used to have portholes that could be opened (I think they could anyway--they definitely had latches on them), although I never did open them. On the last leg of the cruise, we could see sheets of water--ocean water, that is-- splashing on them :eek: . Good thing we never opened them!

[runner15km]

Good thing they don't. I book OV on the lowest decks and at times the waves are splashing against the window.:eek:

[hammybee]

Most outside cabins are at or in close proximity to sea level.

To the best of my knowledge, none of the mainstream cruise lines have windows or portholes that open.

[RuthC]

It's too bad that HAL's cabin windows don't open,
No, it's a good thing they don't open---and not just because you don't want the sea water flooding your cabin.

If the window were to be opened, just as when a balcony door is left open, it creates havoc with the HVAC system. The A/C or heat is cut off for every cabin on the same line. Those other cabins could even be on a different deck, or be insides.

[Boytjie]

No, it's a good thing they don't open---and not just because you don't want the sea water flooding your cabin.

If the window were to be opened, just as when a balcony door is left open, it creates havoc with the HVAC system. The A/C or heat is cut off for every cabin on the same line. Those other cabins could even be on a different deck, or be insides.

So if you have an outside cabin you don't have to bother packing a bungee cord?! :D

[Woody9]

No, it's a good thing they don't open---and not just because you don't want the sea water flooding your cabin.

If the window were to be opened, just as when a balcony door is left open, it creates havoc with the HVAC system. The A/C or heat is cut off for every cabin on the same line. Those other cabins could even be on a different deck, or be insides.

What about the HVAC on the verandah deck? Is the heat or A/C always cut off on that deck then?

Hypothetically speaking (and forgetting security concerns)...
why couldn't outside cabin windows open--even just a crack -- on the lower promenade deck? It would be so nice to have the option of a little fresh air once in a while.

[Mary Ellen]

What about the HVAC on the verandah deck? Is the heat or A/C always cut off on that deck then?Yep, those who do decide they want to hear the sea/get some fresh air DO affect the A/C of other cabins - sometimes decks below. :eek: I suspect those who have complained in their reviews of the poor (nonexistent) A/C in their cabins have been victims of this...

Those on the lower promenade who want some fresh air are only steps away from the largest verandah on the ship. ;)

[RuthC]

why couldn't outside cabin windows open--even just a crack -- on the lower promenade deck? It would be so nice to have the option of a little fresh air once in a while.
Guess you've never sat and watched the ship go up and down in the water troughs, and watched the waves crash as it does.
I've seen water spash against the Crow's Nest windows. I've sat in the Lido restaurant watching the waves hit over the Lower Promenade. I've walked on the water-saturated rugs in the show lounge---water breeched on Upper Promenade and cascaded down the stairs in front of the stage.

Now, you're probably going to say you wouldn't have your window open in seas that rough. Ever hear of a rogue wave? It could achieve the same results.

And even if none of that happened---there's still that little matter of no HVAC in other cabins on the same line (not necessarily the same deck, either). Mary Ellen is right here. Whenever my foul-ball cabin (low and inside) won't cool down I suspect someone several decks higher is enjoying fresh sea air at my expense.

[Woody9]

Mary Ellen, that just seems unfair to those on lower decks, not to mention shipmates in adjacent cabins who really want AC (or heat). Does anyone else have firsthand experience with this on a HAL ship? I only noticed one post about a whistling noise.....

Also going out for fresh air on the lower promenade deck isn't quite the same as being able to have it in your cabin. I definitely see the advantage to balconies in this respect. Nevertheless, I am considering booking connecting cabins on the lower promenade deck. We would like to do a family cruise, and eliminating the balconies would save us hundreds that we could otherwise spend on port activities.

I am wondering if the promenade deck is very noisy. Can you hear promenaders talking out side your window?

[Woody9]

Guess you've never sat and watched the ship go up and down in the water troughs, and watched the waves crash as it does.
I've seen water spash against the Crow's Nest windows. I've sat in the Lido restaurant watching the waves hit over the Lower Promenade. I've walked on the water-saturated rugs in the show lounge---water breeched on Upper Promenade and cascaded down the stairs in front of the stage.

You're scaring me Ruth! What cruises are you referring too?

Now, you're probably going to say you wouldn't have your window open in seas that rough. Ever hear of a rogue wave? It could achieve the same results.

Wouldn't a rogue wave affect the Verandah deck? Or is that deck just too high?

And even if none of that happened---there's still that little matter of no HVAC in other cabins on the same line (not necessarily the same deck, either). Mary Ellen is right here. Whenever my foul-ball cabin (low and inside) won't cool down I suspect someone several decks higher is enjoying fresh sea air at my expense.

Does anyone complain to HAL about this? If so, what is the response?

[RuthC]

You're scaring me Ruth! What cruises are you referring too?
I can't remember if the water splashing on the Crow's Nest was my first SA/Antarctica cruise on the Ryndam in '02, the Rotterdam crossing in '03, or both. I have the videos of both cruises, and I know it's on at least one of them.
The sitting in the Lido watching the crashing was the Ryndam in '02. Wheee!
The flooding of the show lounge was the Rotterdam in '03. It happened during the first show; the second show was canceled that night. BINGO was canceled the next day. That was one heck of a good storm! :D

[Mary Ellen]

Mary Ellen, that just seems unfair to those on lower decks, not to mention shipmates in adjacent cabins who really want AC (or heat). Does anyone else have firsthand experience with this on a HAL ship?I'm pretty sure Ruth has dealt with HAL about A/C problems. Over the years, I've seen quite a few of comments (complaints?) about how the A/C 'doesn't work' on a number of 'dam' ships... There have been posts where potential passengers have said they were afraid to book a ship because they've seen comments about the lack of/poor A/C.

On one of our cruises there was a Q&A with the ships Engineer. HAL is aware of the A/C problems (that is how we learned it could affect cabins on other decks). Other than asking passengers not to prop the verandah doors open (it is mentioned), I don't know how aggressive they are willing to be.

[Homosassa]

I am wondering if the promenade deck is very noisy. Can you hear promenaders talking out side your window?[/quote]

I had an outside cabin on the promenade deck on the Veendam.

If someone was sitting in deck chairs next to your cabin wall, you could hear them talking.

You could also hear the deck stewards moving and stacking the chairs.

[Crusing Bob]

Seems the cruislines would save a lot of problems if they would put a prominent sign in the bathroom or somewhere advising of the problems it creates to leave open a verandah door.

[RuthC]

Seems the cruislines would save a lot of problems if they would put a prominent sign in the bathroom or somewhere advising of the problems it creates to leave open a verandah door.
If someone has an "It's my vacation and I'll do as I wish" attitude, no amount of notices will make any difference.
It's been mentioned enough times, on enough threads, with enough of those kinds of replies, that it's apparent that the doors have to be made to close on their own, with no method to keep them open.

Perhaps a piercing noise if it's open beyond a set number of seconds? :D

[Woody9]

I had an outside cabin on the promenade deck on the Veendam.

If someone was sitting in deck chairs next to your cabin wall, you could hear them talking.

You could also hear the deck stewards moving and stacking the chairs.
Homosassa, would you book another promenade deck cabin or was the noise too bothersome?

[LimeyLee]

On our last cruise on the Ryndam, I noticed that our room was too warm
and no amount of adjusting the AC seemed to help.

I called the front desk and they told me that there is a "central command/control center for all staterooms". I simply told them my
cabin number and voila - one hour later I was able to adjust the AC and felt a gentle flow of nice cool air.

I would imagine this set-up is the same on all HAL ships. Just wanted
to let you folks know that there is no need to suffer - just report
the problem and they'll take care of it.:)

Lee

[Crusing Bob]

that's good to know should we ever experience the problem which we didn't on our last Westerdam cruise.

[Taxguy7]

Water coming down the steps in the show lounge? WOW. I like (unlike the Capt. & most of the pax) a little movement but that's a lot! I will take my cane when I go topside.

[Taxguy7]

I can't remember if the water splashing on the Crow's Nest was my first SA/Antarctica cruise on the Ryndam in '02, the Rotterdam crossing in '03, or both. I have the videos of both cruises, and I know it's on at least one of them.
The sitting in the Lido watching the crashing was the Ryndam in '02. Wheee!
The flooding of the show lounge was the Rotterdam in '03. It happened during the first show; the second show was canceled that night. BINGO was canceled the next day. That was one heck of a good storm! :D
Canceling the show and closing outside doors I can see, but canceling BINGO? NOW youv'e got some mad customers!:D

[Bill S]

We had a cabin on the lower promenade deck on our Alaska cruise last year and never heard anything from outside--maybe we need to get our hearing checked! :)

Oh wait! It was almost always in the high 40s/low 50s--maybe that is why we didn't hear any deck chairs or talking! :eek:

[RuthC]

I called the front desk and they told me that there is a "central command/control center for all staterooms". I simply told them mycabin number and voila - one hour later I was able to adjust the AC and felt a gentle flow of nice cool air.

I wish it had been this easy on my last Noordam cruise! I had the thermostat set as low as it would go, and it was unbearably hot in there. I contacted the Front Desk. I visited the Front Desk. I finally had to raise the ante and get the Guest Relations Manager involved.

The repairmen came to my cabin and held a thermometer to the feed duct---told me everything was all right because it was 72. I told them I wasn't sitting at the feed duct---I was on the floor, and I wanted it cooler down there! :mad:
But we'll have to take some ceiling panels down, and do some work up in there, they said. You don't need my permission, I replied! :rolleyes:

It took three days to get it from unbearably hot to merely uncomfortable.
To this day I wonder if some veranda door was open. :confused:

[Woody9]

We had a cabin on the lower promenade deck on our Alaska cruise last year and never heard anything from outside--maybe we need to get our hearing checked! :)

Oh wait! It was almost always in the high 40s/low 50s--maybe that is why we didn't hear any deck chairs or talking! :eek:

So most passengers don't like to walk the promenade deck when it's cool? Maybe an Alaska cruise is the ideal cruise to book a lower promenade deck room, then.

What about the hot chocolate service that I hear so much about? Was it too cold for the waiters to bring it out to the lower promenade deck?

[Boytjie]

What about the HVAC on the verandah deck? Is the heat or A/C always cut off on that deck then?

Hypothetically speaking (and forgetting security concerns)...
why couldn't outside cabin windows open--even just a crack -- on the lower promenade deck? It would be so nice to have the option of a little fresh air once in a while.

And have passers-by pull the curtains aside to take a peek inside? I don't think so! :)

[Boytjie]

I am wondering if the promenade deck is very noisy. Can you hear promenaders talking out side your window?

We never heard a thing from the promenade when we had a cabin there on our Alaska cruise. We heard a little bit of noise from the kitchen above us but it wasn't that loud at all.

We've had balconies on our Caribbean vacations but the Lower Promenade cabin on the Amsterdam was just as enjoyable. Yes, we may have had the largest balcony on the ship but you had to be a little bit better dressed to go out there rather than your own private balcony. ;)

[Boytjie]

What about the hot chocolate service that I hear so much about? Was it too cold for the waiters to bring it out to the lower promenade deck?

No! They were out there in Glacier Bay with pea soup and hot drinks. And it was dam cold out there.

[Woody9]

Yes, we may have had the largest balcony on the ship but you had to be a little bit better dressed to go out there rather than your own private balcony. ;)

Especially if it's 40 or 50 degrees outside!